Please levy the MAXIMUM FINE against the University of Texas, Medical
Branch, Galveston for their blatant disregard of the Animal Welfare Act when
their ineptitude allowed 19 guinea pigs to die painfully without being
euthanized. UTMB Negligence also killed a sheep. Their utter disregard for
the animals and the Animal Welfare Act CANNOT be tolerated and MUST be
punished to the fullest extent of the law. Please open a second
investigation into animal abuse at UTMB.

Prestigious Texas lab cited again for
animal deaths
By David Warren, name,
TheBigStory, March 25, 2016

DALLAS (AP) — A prestigious laboratory in Texas already under federal
investigation after inspectors determined it didn't do enough to prevent the
suffering of primates is facing more scrutiny after animals in another study
were found dead.

In the latest probe, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service cited the Galveston National Laboratory last
month for problems including improper data collection regarding animal
observations and failure to promptly notify an attending veterinarian of an
animal's death. This came after federal inspectors learned that 19 guinea
pigs died during a study at the lab, one of the nation's leading research
facilities seeking vaccines for some of the most lethal diseases.

"The institution has taken appropriate corrective actions to prevent
recurrence," the National Institutes of Health said Friday in a written
statement.

Findings in a USDA inspector's report echo concerns included in the
federal investigation that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases launched last year. A preliminary report issued last year in that
probe found test animals weren't properly observed. If left unobserved the
animals can suffer from the effects of diseases like anthrax and Ebola
before being euthanized.

"This problem is not limited to one project or even to one species,"
Michael Budkie, executive director of Ohio-based Stop Animal Exploitation
Now, said Friday. "Basically what this is showing is that the problems are
systemic."

But officials at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where the lab is
located, deny any far-reaching problems and say the welfare of animals there
is a primary concern.

"We deal with some of the most dangerous diseases on the planet," said
Toby Boenig, UTMB vice president and chief compliance officer. "It's our
intention to intervene before the animal dies from the disease."

Studies at the lab are often conducted to determine how effective a
vaccine may be against a pathogen, lab administrators say. A series of
protocols are used to maintain strict controls on a study.

Some studies may evaluate a vaccine against the late stages of a disease
in an animal. Others may determine the effect on another species when a
vaccine is introduced earlier.

"When you get to a certain stage of a disease, at what point can you
still use a vaccine and save lives?" asked Dave Niesel, UTMB chief research
officer.

Niesel mentioned the Liberian man who in 2014 was discharged from a
Dallas hospital because staff didn't realize he had been stricken with
Ebola. Treatment was delayed and the man grew sicker as the disease spread
through his body, Niesel said. "So one of the key questions the world wants
to know is where along the progression can lives still be saved?" he said.

The preliminary report from the federal investigation of the Galveston
lab found a variety of procedural errors with the primate study conducted at
the facility. The lab had a contract with the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases to develop a strain of the Marburg virus that could
be used on Macaque monkeys to find a cure. Eight monkeys were found dead in
their cages in 2014; four others were euthanized.

The Marburg virus has similarities to Ebola and is among the most
virulent pathogens known to infect people, according to the World Health
Organization.

The federal probe's preliminary report found dozens of irregularities,
some considered minor and others more serious. They ranged from incomplete
training files for some employees to data that was not recorded and
operating procedures that were not followed.

The federal investigation is ongoing and penalties could range from
federal action that ensures compliance, such as additional training for
employees, to loss of funding from federal agencies.

Lab officials acknowledge minor infractions occurred and said they have
been corrected. But they argued the majority of claims, including that
animals were allowed to suffer, were unfounded.

Niesel said in the wake of findings from last year, the lab has hired
additional staff and made a series of changes, including increased
observation of animals. Those changes had not been fully implemented when
the guinea pigs died late last year.

A spokeswoman for the National Institutes of Health, which contracts with
many labs on animal testing, did not respond to questions about whether the
number of deaths at the Galveston lab is consistent with those at other
labs.

"This is not frivolous work. We are actually trying to stem the tide
against some of the world's most dangerous viruses," said UTMB spokesman
Raul Reyes, later adding, "We never set out to intentionally harm an
animal."

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